Pedal to the Metal
by Guardian of Hope
Summary: As Venjix's reach is limited, Scott leads his team on a new search, to find Ziggy and Dillon's missing sisters. None of them are aware of how far they'll go, or where they'll end up.


A/N: END GAME. Yes, this is the planned end of Summer's Boys. I don't know how long it will take me, but I needed something positive tonight and posting this felt positive.

My song for PttM is from Jem and the Holograms: "I'm Still Here".

* * *

It had started with Doctor Oliver. Mason Truman knew himself well enough that he would never have thought of the date if Tommy hadn't of stopped him before work. _"I know you and your son aren't in the best place, but we're throwing him and Dillon a birthday party this week at Conner's house. It's a bar-b-que, you're welcome to stop by."_

Mason had agreed to consider it, but he hadn't planned on going. While his relationship with Scott was vastly improved now, he couldn't see how his presence at the party would be anything other than poorly received.

Then they managed to push their controlled territory border out to the forward base once called the Aerie, where Eagle Squad had been deployed from, and someone in the tech department had found the video. Mason hadn't been surprised by the presence of the video, all of the pilots had left behind some version of a 'if I don't make it back' message, although they'd been lost with the base. What had surprised Mason was that Marcus had recorded a video with the specific instructions for Scott and Mason to watch it together. Perhaps a message from Marcus wasn't appropriate for a part, but Mason took it as a sign, that he should repair the relationship with is surviving son before it was too late.

Most of Mason's clothes and belonging had been in storage in DC before Venjix, and when he'd come to the dome to prepare it's defenses, retrieving or replacing his civilian wardrobe had been so far down on his list that Mason hadn't gotten more than a few shirts and pants over the past three years, and it felt very odd to step out of his house one afternoon wearing a pair of jeans and a polo instead of his uniform.

In general, housing wasn't part of Mason's sphere of responsibility, but he'd known that Conner's family had a home near to two of his own people, Blake Bradley and Trent Fernandez. As he pulled up to the address Tommy had given him, Mason hoped that they were neighbors, otherwise the number of cars that crowded the two houses meant that Conner's neighbors would be rather unhappy with him.

As Mason slid out of his car, Lexi and Leigh Oliver popped out of the house with bright grins.

"Hi Colonel Truman," Leigh said with a wave.

"Are you here for the party?" Lexi asked.

"I thought I would stop by for a few moments," Mason said, taking the disk out of the car. "Am I late?"

"Nope," Leigh said and jumped off the porch. "Dad was just saying the food was almost ready. Aunt Kim and- and Dillon were going to sing."

Lexi smirked, "Dillon says he's not, but I think between Aunt Kim and Doc K, they'll have him convinced by the time we get back."

"Just let me get the guitar, and we'll take you back," Leigh said. He trotted over to the Oliver's van while Lexi leaned on the railing and watched.

"I wasn't aware that the Black Ranger was musically inclined," Mason said.

"Oh, James used to sing all the time," Lexi said, waving zir hand, "He had a band and everything. Uncle Zack said his nickname was going to be something like Songbird, but it's not anymore."

"You're confusing him," Leigh said as he came back with the guitar. "Besides, that's _Ranger_ stuff."

Lexi rolled zir eyes, "You worry too much." Ze opened the door and held it for them, "Everyone's out back, Colonel."

They headed through the house and onto the back deck. Mason hesitated just outside the door looking around. There was a small knot of older people sitting in chairs by a grill just off the porch, but most of the back yard had been taken over by a group of teenagers. Directly on the porch was a woman he recognized as Kim Johannason, along with the RPM Rangers and Doctor K. Leigh put the guitar down beside Mrs. Johannason, but didn't say anything.

Dillon was actually singing, sprawled out on a deck chair he shared with the slender green ranger, something about not being a puppet.

Mason's attention, however, was caught by his son.

Scott was squeezed onto a two seater glider with Flynn and Summer. He had one arm around Summer's waist and the other was settled around Flynn's shoulders and he had a content smile.

Then he looked over at Mason and his smile froze. Summer shifted to look at Scott, then twisted to look at Mason.

"Colonel!" Flynn said, catching everyone's attention.

Mason squared his shoulders and stepped out. "Doctor Oliver invited me," he said carefully, watching Scott carefully. His son was watching him cautiously, but he hadn't moved his hands. "I came by because we retook the Aerie."

"This is a party," Mrs. Johannason said.

Mason glanced at her for a moment, frustrated. Then he turned back to Scott, "The technicians retrieved the letters. Mason left one for both of us." He held up the disk, "I brought you a copy."

Scott pushed Summer until the Yellow Ranger moved so he could stand up, "Thanks Dad."

Mason hesitated, trying to force the words out. It had always been hard to connect with his son, but never more so than Marcus had died. Without his older son to smooth out the wrinkles in their relationship, Mason had often been at a loss.

Finally, he held out the disk, "Happy birthday, Scott."

Scott took the disk and smiled a little, "Thank you."

Mason looked into Scott's eyes, feeling something in his chest relax at the glint in his eyes. It had been a while since Mason had looked for it, and he was glad to see that it wasn't gone entirely. "I'm not sure what other digital information will be retrieved from the Aerie," Mason said, "but I'll make sure your belongings are sent to the Garage when they arrive."

Scott nodded, "Thanks, Dad."

Mason nodded and started to step back, he didn't want to overstay his welcome, and his relationship with his son was the sort of thing guaranteed to drag down a party, not up lift it. "Do you have to go?" Scott asked, "Because lunch is almost ready."

Mason hesitated, then shook his head, aware that everyone was watching him, "I wasn't sure you wanted me to."

Scott smiled a little, "We're not allowed to talk about work. I think you're safe for half an hour."

"All right," Mason said, "I'll stay."

Somehow, he wasn't surprised that he ended up staying until the end of the party, and he managed to escape arguing with Scott the whole time.

/././.\\.\\.\

Scott pushed the door shut on his room with a sigh. Flynn and Summer were expecting him to come to Summer's room soon, but Scott needed a moment. It had been a good day, even with his dad showing up at the party. It was the kind of day that made Scott wish that the war was already over, so that he could have more time to meet with and get to know the other Rangers. He slid off his coat and tossed it at the bed, frowning when something clattered to the floor.

It was the white DVD case that his dad had given him, with Marcus's final message. Scott picked it up, staring at the plain case, wondering at how innocent it seemed. Scott sat down on the bed, bowing his head slightly.

He remembered the day he'd met Marcus clearly. He'd been ten and angry that his mom was getting remarried. It had been nearly two years after _his_ dad had died in a car wreck, and he'd been so resentful towards Mason for trying to steal his mom and replace his dad. It had been a week before their parents' wedding that Scott had finally met Marcus. Marcus had been away at space camp, and Scott had been prepared all his best insults for the older boy.

 _Ten year old Scott pouted on the couch, ordered there by his mother after he'd loudly demanded to know why he had to meet stupid Marcus. He crossed his arms and glared across the room to where Rose Harland, soon to be Truman, was fussing over a plate of fudge she'd made. Scott glared at the fudge for a moment, then went back to glaring at his mom._ Stupid Mason and doubly stupid Marcus _, Scott thought, seeing the nuts in the fudge. He was allergic to nuts, his mom used to remember that._

 _Rose straightened, hands moving to smooth her shirt as she turned to him. "Scott, I expect you to be on your best behavior now."_

 _Scott glared at her and crossed his arms._

 _Rose hesitated, "I mean it Scott. If you can't behave, you won't be able to play any video games for two weeks."_

 _Scott straightened up, uncrossing his arms, "What? No fair! What if he's mean to me?"_

 _"Marcus and you are going to be brothers," Rose said with a smile. "I know you both will behave."_

 _"Yes ma'am," Scott said, he heaved the biggest sigh he could manage._

 _The doorbell rang and Rose turned to get the door. Scott glared at her back and stuck his tongue out. He already knew how this was going to turn out._

 _"Hello Mason, Marcus, how was camp?" Rose said._

 _"It was fun," a boy said. Scott squirmed, but he didn't get off the couch. "Is Scott here?"_

 _"He's in the living room," Rose said, "come on in."_

 _Marcus turned out to be a tall boy with a bright smile. "You must be Scott," he said. "I'm Marcus."_

 _"Maybe I am," Scott muttered, watching for his mom._

 _Marcus held out a gift bag, it was bright red. "I brought you a present."_

 _Scott frowned, Mom hadn't said_ anything _about presents! "Scott," Rose called._

 _Scott sighed, "Thank you Marcus. I didn't know we were supposed to bring presents."_

 _"That's okay," Marcus said, "I wanted to. Here, take it." Scott took the bag and stared at it for a moment. "It's not going to open itself," Marcus said with a laugh._

 _Scott reached in, and under the tissue he found a slender, hard case and he pulled it out, letting the bag fall to the floor. He pulled the tissue off and gasped, "Star Pilot 2!"_

 _"Dad said you had the first one," Mason offered._

 _"Yeah," Scott said, grinning. "Have you played? This is so cool. Thank you."_

 _"I haven't played," Mason said._

 _"Come on," Scott said, "Let's go play now!"_

Scott smiled to himself for a moment. One video game, and Marcus had instantly become his favorite person ever, a designation that hadn't changed all the way through high school and into officer's training. His relationship with Mason had been harder to build, and it had been years before he'd called the man Dad. Scott sighed, rubbed a thumb over the case. There was hope yet, he wasn't about to give up on his second father just yet. There was too much between them now.

Ziggy flinched as he stepped out of his bedroom. Dillon was waiting for him, arms crossed. "Hey Dillon," Ziggy said carefully, "What's up?"

"I want your recording from last night," Dillon said, holding out his hand.

"What recording?" Ziggy asked, "I- I didn't."

"Ziggy," Dillon said.

"I didn't make a recording," Ziggy insisted. "I wanted to, you have an amazing voice, but I didn't. Dillon, I swear."

Dillon stared at him and Ziggy forced himself to meet Dillon's eyes. After a moment, Dillon crossed his arms again, "Someone recorded me last night."

Ziggy hesitated a minute, "Did you ask Doc K? She had a tablet with her, it might have had a mic."

"You think Doctor K would care about me singing?" Dillon said.

Ziggy spread his arms slightly, "Why wouldn't she? Like I said you have an amazing voice, Dillon." He stepped closer, looking up at Dillon carefully, "I wouldn't mind hearing you sing more."

Dillon's eyes widened slightly, then narrowed, "How many times have you heard me sing before?"

Ziggy flinched and stepped back. "A few times? There are several musical Rangers and Ranger kids," he hesitated, "well, there were. Almost every reunion I went to had at least one karaoke night, and everyone sang."

Dillon grumbled softly but unfolded his arms, "If you can figure out who made the recording, I'd appreciate the help," Dillon said. Then his face soften and he reached out, "Sorry, I just, I don't like being surprised like that."

"It's okay," Ziggy said, taking Dillon's hand and allowing himself to be pulled into a hug. He rested his head on Dillon's shoulder, "What makes you think there's a recording anyways?"

"Mom called this morning and she mentioned it. I thought that since you were so eager to hear me sing, you might have been the culprit, or would know who did it."

Ziggy pulled back so that he could look up at Dillon, "I don't really know anything Dillon. Although I'm glad someone did. You sounded really good."

Dillon kissed him, "You keep saying that."

Ziggy chuckled, "It's true."

"Dillon, Zigreal, you have zord training," Doctor K called.

"Coming Doc," Dillon called over his shoulder. He looked back at Ziggy, "Remind me later, there's something I wanted to ask."

"Sure," Ziggy said.

"Now, Rangers," Doctor K called.

"You got it Doc," Dillon replied.

"We should go," Ziggy said.

"She can wait," Dillon said, looking down at Ziggy.

"Maybe I don't want her to shoot me," Ziggy muttered.

"She wouldn't dare," Dillon said, "I'd protect you."

"It's my turn," Ziggy said.

"Is it?" Dillon asked.

Ziggy grinned at Dillon, "Yeah, you're actually ahead of me right now." He reached up to grip Dillon's arms and teleported them into the Ranger Room.

"Cheater," Dillon muttered as he stepped back.

/././.\\.\\.\

Justin looked up from his screen in surprise as the door opened. "Hailey?" He said.

"Hi Justin," Hailey Kendall said as she sat down across from him, "You got a moment?"

"Hold on," Justin said and quickly saved his work. "There, what do you need?"

"It's not exactly tech related," Hailey said as she put a tablet on the desk. "Do you recognize this?"

Justin reached over and pulled the tablet closer, frowning at the image of two nearly identical DNA scans. "I think so," he said, "hold on." He turned to his bag and dug out his phone. "It does look familiar." He flipped through the phone's applications and pulled up some of the extra data.

"That's not a regulation phone," Hailey said.

"Nope," Justin said cheerfully. "They can have my phone when they pry it out of my hands." He glanced up at Hailey, "They will find that to be a very daunting prospect, I assure you." He found what he was looking for and pulled it up. "Now, let's see," he muttered as he laid his phone by her tablet. There was a soft chime as the phone connected to the tablet.

"What are you doing?" Hailey asked.

"Cross referencing the DNA with the records I have," Justin said. "My phone can remote access secure databases full of information."

"Aren't you worried about Venjix?" Hailey said.

Justin snorted, "Venjix is welcome to try. He'd have to be able to detect the transmission to my phone, which doesn't use conventional methods, and then he'd have to hack my encryptions, which are layered, in multiple languages not found on this Earth, based on an off-world numeric system." He bared his teeth at Hailey, "Computer security has been my bread and butter for twenty years, Hailey, and people pay me because I'm very, very good."

His phone beeped and Justin picked it up, "Also, I know who the DNA belongs to, because I am a BAMF like that."

"Justin," Hailey said.

"If you wanted me in a good mood, you picked the wrong day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either," Justin said. He paused, "But the day after, that would have been a better day."

"Really," Hailey said shortly.

Justin looked at her, "It's twenty eight days after the last time this happened. It's a cycle. I told you this. Do you still have trouble understanding moon cycles and my emotional issues? Because I updated the Power Point and I'll be happy to show it to you again. I even added music." He held up his phone, "I should also say that the DNA match is 99% positive for both of them," Justin said, "and I don't know of any other children with these kind of DNA grafts." He put his phone away, "When you tell Gem and Gemma, tell them I know a cousin of theirs. She's not here, but they do have family on Earth."

"How do you know it's them?" Hailey asked.

Justin snorted, "I'm just that good."


End file.
